Top Navigation Menu

Living Room "After" Pictures!

January 22, 2009

Okay, I'm finally posting some of the promised "after" pictures in my living room. It's not all the way done yet...I'll be tweaking things for at least another month to get it just right (yes I am obsessive). But this will give you the basic idea. :) First is the couch. New pillows can change the feel of a room so much! The green fabric is duiponi silk that I got for FREE. I saw an ad on Craigslist...a lady had a garage chock full of fabric that she was just giving away. Either she was crazy, or a fabric pirate or just really wanted to get rid of stuff. The place was packed with people grabbing fabric. I was 15 minutes late, 9 months pregnant and STILL got four grocery bags stuffed with fabric and trims. The black and white print is from Joanns (purchased on sale for 50% off, of course). I bought it because...well, what else goes with apple green?! And after looking at these pictures, I'm wishing I had ironed the fabric before I sewed pillows. Eek!

Next comes that hideous corner shelf with the heart. Do you even recognize it? I covered the front with embossed cardstock lined with cardboard. Just glued it right over all that scrolly heart mess. Now the shelf is sleek and simple! I think I'm going to add a little more black glaze to the shelf. The embossed paper was metallic bronze and it's showing through just a little too much for my taste.

Oh, and just a little info about the two picture frames. The small one was obnoxiously gold and the large one was cream and mint crackle finish. YIKES...hideous, to say the least. I am shocked how much better they look with just a few coats of glossy black spray paint! And I'm kicking myself for forgetting to take a picture before I painted them, because seriously people, you would be amazed!

Basket from Salvation Army filled with apples. The apples were too much money (in comparison) but I really wanted them!

I made the runner...it took all of 20 minutes. Super easy, but it adds more color and pattern to the room.

Talk about a change...this clock was grandma-ish before. Now it is modern AND it matches my new living room! It only took me three or four rejects to get it right. I hate that...what a waste of time and supplies. But I couldn't settle on something I didn't like because then it would bug me everytime I look at it!

Here's my lovely $1.50 apothecary jar. I made the balls inside. I wrapped string around a small balloon, painted it with a water/Elmer's glue mixture, let it dry, then popped the balloon. I am going to add some little green balls in there too...just haven't gotten them done/right yet.

Another apothecary jar I found two days ago for $1. YES! I was so stoked when I saw it, I almost pushed a little grandma out of the way to grab it. Almost. To fill it, I just rolled paper into tubes, then tied them together with ribbon. I'm too cheap to buy anything to put in the jars, so I had to get creative. :)

And here's the whole group together. The skinny vase is only temporary until I find another apothecary jar. But I've had pretty sweet luck lately, so that poor vase shouldn't have to stay long. It's green because it's filled with split peas, by the way. I'm excited to change around the jar "fillings" with different holidays and/or as I get ideas of what to put in them. Now I just have to hope that my kids stay away from them so they don't get smashed into a million pieces!

Last but not least is my favorite transformation of all. This wicker basket is where we throw our scarves, hats and gloves during the winter. Before it looked like this:

Now it looks like this: Much better, huh? This is my favorite transformation because...all I did was flip the liner inside out! HA! Brilliant! Some day I might paint the basket part black, but for now I'm just enjoying the fact that I got this awesome basket for so cheap and didn't have to spend any extra money or time to fix it up. Yay!

First, don't kick yourself about not ironing the silk before you made the cushions. I can't believe you found that lovely jade / green apple shade for free!. But after a few days of lounging on them, they'll be well-creased. :)

Second, that black and white patterned fabric is awesome. I love how you used it on the cushion and the runner, and I think the clock too. It really ties the room together.

I wouldn't be too amazed at the ugly shelf. We have a medicine cabinet that's been removed and tossed that we refer to as "sleeping beauty's casket"... think heavy ugly gold filigree and faux crystal. But a picture of it would be fun!

I'm not sure the basket is my favorite part of the makeover :) But you're welcome to it. It's a great basket, and turning the cover inside out was inspired!